The success of plastic or reconstructive surgery depends to a great extent on the physical properties of the materials utilised. They must most certainly be biocompatible, stable and non-toxic but they must also have physical properties that mimic the bodily tissue they are replacing, as in reconstructive surgery, and mimic the bodily tissue in the proximity of the endoprosthesis, as in cosmetic surgery.
Natural and synthetic polymers such as collagen, soya, glycerol, silicone, polyvinylpyrolidone and hyaluronic acid have been utilised as endoprostheses. Materials used for endoprostheses generally try to imitate the natural soft tissue and are intended to be safe to the health of the patient. Materials such as collagen are re-absorbed into the body over short periods of time. Silicone and soya have encountered serious safety issues. There is currently a need for a safe, stable, biocompatible material that possesses the physical properties to mimic soft tissue.
Polyacrylamide gels have also been disclosed. WO 96/04943 relates to a biocompatible hydrogel containing 3.5 to 6.0% cross-linked polyacrylamide. However, WO 96/04943 teaches that concentrations below 3.5% make the hydrogel unstable.
GB 2114578 relates to a polyacrylamide gel for medical and biological purposes containing 3 to 28% polyacrylamide with the remainder of the mass of the gel comprised of a physiological solution. According to GB 2114578, the prospective utility in the polyacrylamide gel lies in the manufacture of artificial crystalline lenses (contact lenses), a dense base in growing microorganisms. GB 2114578 discloses the preparation of gels having 4.0 to 20.0%, 5.0 to 18.0% and 6.0 to 15.0% solid weight content.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,658,329 relates to an implantable endoprosthesis comprising a shell filled with a polyacrylamide gel comprising 2 to 20% polyacrylamide by weight and a viscosity range of 15 to 75 Pas.
Formacryl® polyacrylamide is a soft-tissue endoprosthesis consisting of 5% reticulated polyacrylamide polymer and 95% apyrogenic water commercialised as an injectable device for medical and dental use to correct congenital or acquired deficits such as wrinkles, lines and scars. It is to be implanted with a syringe in the hypodermis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,404 relates to a process for preparing polyacrylamide gel plates for electrophoresis.
WO 99/10021 relates to an injectable, biocompatible hydrogel comprising 0.5 to 10% polyacrylamide and an antibiotic or antiseptic. WO 99/10021 is directed to the solving the problem of sappuration and rejection of the gel in its use an endoprosthesis.